Origins
by redqueen-nero
Summary: A selection of drabbles, which make up Shiro's origins. After her strange dream, Shiro returns to Fortuna to learn the truth and she might not like what she finds.
1. Chapter 1

Before writing this drabble, I was RPing with a Vergil; he and Shiro had fought for Yamato and she'd given it back to him at the end. A month down the line, she approached him again to ask for Yamato to take on this trip - she had to trade Red Queen for it.

**And for the love of everything, can you all PLEASE read my profile before sending me messages about Shiro? EVERYTHING is explained there.**

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**Credo **

It hadn't changed much since she'd left; they had rebuilt most of the town when Dante had gone and she was glad to see it was still intact. It was a good sign; it proved they could manage without her and she didn't have to feel so guilty about leaving.

It was still so picturesque; she could make out the opera house in the middle of the town and the castle in the distance looming over them all.

Fortuna. Home.

Or as close to home as it was ever going to get.

Shiro strolled into the town, keeping to the back streets to avoid the stares of the citizens - to avoid word getting back to Kyrie that she was around. The church was on the far end of town, where the demonic forest once stood during the attack; the graveyard was much larger than the church itself - a reminder of how many people had actually been killed that day.

She followed the gravel path to a statue overlooking the whole yard; he was the highest ranking of the knights and most loyal to the Order of the Sword - of course he'd get a statue. Blue eyes studied it awkwardly before she sat; pausing to gather her thoughts.

"…Credo," she muttered, looking down at the ground before gazing up at him. He stood tall, proud, with his hand resting on his trusty sword; his gaze covered the large open space. He would watch over the people, even in death.

"You're probably pissed at me for leaving Kyrie behind, but I wouldn't do that if I didn't think the Order couldn't take care of her…" she trailed off. "Actually, if what I saw in my dream is true…you're pissed at me for even being here talking to you."

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched the bringer.

"If you were alive I'd ask you everything in person, but since you're not I have to go back to that nut job's lab - I know the answers are there, I just-"

Movement to her right. Shiro turned her head to see one of the scarecrow demons stumbling out of the bushes and instinctively reached for Red Queen, only to grab air.

She traded the sword for Yamato.

No problem. She rose to her feet and the bringer glowed a soft blue; the katana appeared in her hand and with a strong swing the scarecrow was sliced cleanly in two. Shiro studied the blade for a second; she'd never used it outside of her trigger before - she could see why Vergil was reluctant to let it go.

Voices in the distance pulled her from admiring the sword and she turned her head back to the statue.

"You may have hated me - I'll never know that for sure - but with Nero's memories…I'll always think the best of you."

Her gaze lingered for a moment longer and she slipped away before the knights arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Castle **

"I guess nobody bothered to clean up my mess…" Shiro noted as she gazed around the main hall; huge chunks of the chandelier littered the floor and the picture of Sanctus still had a gaping hole in it. A smirk pulled at her lips, it was fun destroying that ugly picture in the first place but seeing the damage from the door made her want to giggle a little.

"Or rather…" She tilted her head to the side. "No one bothered to clean up Nero's mess…" she sighed and then shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that.

She made her way through the homemade Sanctus door and peered down over the ledge; the drop wasn't as big as she remembered…probably because the huge door was in the way - no matter, she'd just go through Agnus' lab instead.

The former knight landed in a low crouch and the metal beneath her vibrated a little. Her gaze drifted to the door and she narrowed her eyes. For her, things after meeting Agnus got a little fuzzy; but the soft glow of her bringer was urging her to continue.

Her steps into the factory were slow and cautious, the eerie silence made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end; and despite her quiet steps, they echoed throughout the space. Shiro kept her hand close to Blue Rose and her eyes sharp; there was something in the room with her - she knew it.

_WOOSH!_

Out comes the pistol, aiming at nothing, but Shiro wasn't about to let her guard down that easy; however, she is surprised by the fact that something is still alive down there.

It's behind her.

Whirl and pull. _PING!_

"Oh, so it's you…" Blue eyes narrow at the suit of armor. Blue Rose was never very effective against them and with a spin it's holstered again. Shiro cracks her knuckles as the heavy suit gently lands in front of her and she bows with a smirk. "Shall we dance?"

The lance came at her quickly, but the former knight managed to twist out of the way and grab it; she pulled the suit of armor into a spin and watched it fly to the other end of the factory. Naturally, she followed, jumping and hopping from machine to machine to gain the ground she needed faster and confuse her opponent - not that the suits were all that smart to begin with, but smarter than most demons she had faced in Fortuna.

Leap into the air and drop kick, right as the suit is getting back to its feet; the chest plate bends but doesn't break and Shiro has to back flip to avoid the lance again. She skids across the metal floor and charges, pulling the demonic arm back; she ducks under another swing of the lance and throws her fist forward.

The chest plate scrapes against the hard skin of her bringer and the whole suit suddenly collapses into pieces; she pulls the chunk she has off her arm and looks around.

"Seems like he was the only one here," she snorts and spots the door she needs to leave. "This place is still giving me the creeps though."


	3. Chapter 3

**Lab **

Shiro runs her hand down the wall by the door, blue eyes softening at the memory flashing through her mind. Agnus had pinned Nero to the wall - the young knight had almost died - and then…

Then things were a little fuzzy for Shiro. She remembers the sword, Yamato, suspended in the light and fighting those strange swords; anything else is just lost in a haze. Her eyes drift to the gaping hole in the roof and she tilts her head to the side.

"I don't remember that being there…" she muses aloud and heads for the door. The stupid corridor with those weird shark things; the former knight shuddered but continued on, eventually stepping into the game room.

There was the door she had come through the first time, when she had to play that stupid dice game; but there were the other doors too. Eenie, meenie, minie, mo? No need; the bringer is glowing softly and practically dragging her to the opposite door. Shiro studies it carefully before kicking it.

What kind of door doesn't have a handle? She frowns and punches it with the bringer, knocking a chunk of dirt away. There's a thin hole and Shiro looks to the bringer.

"Yamato? Tch, how clever of you, Agnus…" The katana is in her hand in seconds and she gently slid the blade into the hole; there's a soft click and the door parts. "Even when it was broken, you found a use for it."

The former knight followed the short corridor to another door and cautiously stepped inside. The floor was a metal grate with a series of tubes and wires running under it, there was a shelf in one corner with a computer, a generator of some kind in the other and a shattered tube in the middle.

"…It was real…" She slowly walks over to the tube and studies the broken glass and the metal platform. "It wasn't just a dream."

_'Of course it was real.'_

Shiro spun to face whoever was in the room with her and found herself alone. Blue eyes drift to the floor where she had curled up in a ball and then over to a small hook on the wall.

_'You took a spare lab coat eventually.'_

Another spin. Still no one. Shiro rubs her temples and makes her way over to the shelf, picking out one of the files at random; she flicks through it for a moment before putting it back and getting the one next to it.

"Hrm…'**The generator.**.." She glances back at the machine in the corner. "…**is powered by the Hell Gates; the energy from that is then transferred into the subject. The demonic energy will allow her to develop at a faster rate. Should anything happen to Dante and Nero, the subject will take their place as the power for the Savior**.' Heh…I'm a spare fucking battery…" She shook her head and read on. "'**I should thank Credo for Nero's DNA, even though he is unaware of His Holiness' plan to use Nero in place of Dante should he need to. The Sparda blood line, no matter how thin, will be enough**.' Shit."

_'I don't know how you came out as a girl, though…I guess Agnus fucked up somewhere with the DNA.'_

Shiro spun and pressed her back against the shelf. "Alright, who's there!?"

_'You might need something reflective, honey, try the computer screen.'_

Her heart is racing, but she still steps over to the computer and wipes the dust off the screen; and there it is - the most fucked up reflection ever. It's her, but with black hair and red eyes, it even winks at her! "The fuck are you?"

_'You already know the answer to that. It was written on your arm.'_

Risho.

"Shit. What are you?"

_'You, technically. I was created from the demonic energy of the Hell Gates which mixed with your demonic blood; I know everything you know and then some.'_

Shiro turned her back to Risho and ran her hands down her face. "Then some?"

_'I know that the shock wave created by Nero triggering caused your arm to change. Unlike you, I was conscious through all that; I don't think you came around until sometime after he was absorbed by Sanctus.'_

Her shoulders relaxed and for a moment she didn't say anything. "But I…remember my…"

_'Childhood? Fighting the other demons? I imagine the bringer absorbed Nero's memories when he triggered, and up until the Gates were destroyed it was still absorbing the energy through the pipes.'_

Shiro glanced over to her darker self, who was waving dismissively at the pipes with her bringer. Even that was black and red. Shiro then laughed and placed her hand to her forehead.

"I…went back to what was left of the house and grabbed some clothes…then watched Dante battle with His Holiness…" she bit back a sob and her hand dropped to her mouth.

_'Then you blocked the whole thing out with your little tale of being transformed by a demon!'_ Risho laughed. _'Bravo! You got some sympathy from Nero!'_

"And you're being helpful because…?"

Risho smiled tightly. _'Because when you're like that, I can try this!'_

There's a familiar pain in her chest and Shiro drops to one knee, gasping as her darker half tries to take control. "N-NO! Not while we're in…F-Fortuna! I…I won't let you hurt…K-K-Kyrie!"

_'Tougher than I thought. Oh well,'_ she chuckled. _'I can wait.'_

The former knight slowly rose back to her feet and stumbled out of the room. It was time to leave…and she had a sword to return.


	4. Chapter 4

**Conflict**

"Dante?" Shiro called out as she entered Devil May Cry. "Guess he's out…" She closed the door behind her and strolled over to the couch, pulling the bed out with one fierce tug. "Wonder if he noticed I was gone…"

_'Bet he didn't care.'_

"You shut up!" she snapped. "Can you go back to not existing!?"

_'I can, but tormenting you is fun.'_

Shiro growled and pulled a cover around herself before dropping onto the bed. "Go away…"

_'Don't you have to return Yamato?'_

A groan. "Later. LEAVE ME ALONE!"

_'Tch.'_

That was that; the voice actually shut up after talking practically non-stop the whole trip back. Shiro pulled the cover over her head and curled into a ball; perhaps going to Fortuna was a bad idea - not that she could anything about it now.

"A fucking spare battery…" She felt a tear roll down her cheek and wiped it away. If Sanctus was still alive she'd be plotting her revenge on him and his Order; but he was gone and there was no one to take her frustrations out on.

_'How about Dante or Nero?'_ Risho laughed. _'Oh, that'd be fun!'_

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" She covered her ears. "It's not their fault!"

_'Let's just go back and kill the remaining members of the Order, c'mon! I bet everyone but Credo knew, he always was kind of dense, I mean…how does he not know about Nero's arm for…what? A year?'_

"…"

_'My, are we actually considering it?'_

"What will it take for you to shut up?"

_'A turn in your body.'_

Shiro untangled herself from the cover and stormed into the bathroom, glaring at Risho in the mirror. "The last time you had a 'turn' I woke up covered in blood!"

_'Oh, that was a fun night. Can't wait to do it again!'_

The bringer met the mirror, glass fell into the sink and Risho cackled. Shiro stared at the demonic arm and then at the glass; how was she going to explain this to Dante?


End file.
